eighteennn

I liked chapter 17 pretty much right from the beginning. The quote on page 259 that says "For some black students, doing well in school is equated with "selling out" or becoing non-black thus for them, "the burden of acting white" was too high a price to pay for academic success." From this quote on I was really interested in what the author had to say because I really see this in my student teaching experience. I have several African American students in my college prep class and many of them are super intelligent and are very involved with the government and politics. The problem I have is that while when they participate in class or they're working on an in-class assignment, the work they turn in to me hardly reflects the things I'm sure they know. I can't begin to explain how frustrating this can be...I know which kids know the material and which kids don't, but I can't grade on perceived knowledge, only what they turn in right? So when I read this quote in the opening paragraph I said to myself YESSSS they're going to tell me how to fix this problem! This wish ended up being not so much but I really thought the article was interesting.
The other quote I really liked from the article came on page 261, "This is manifest most clearly in the blacks in the United States must all share the common social experience of racism and discrimination. In this nation, the visibility of one's skin color and of other physical traits assoicated with socially devalued groups marks individuals "targets" for subordination and discrimination by members of the white society. Thus most striking commonality among blacks is the oppression they share based solely on meanings attributed to the color of one's skin." This quote was really discomforting for me...because it's just so wrong....not that what it's saying is incorrect, but wrong like damn...this shouldn't be the case!!! How can it be that the commonality among a specific group of people is the feeling of oppression that they grow up with?!!?!? This is part of why I want to become a teacher, I want everyone in my class to feel welcome and engaged. I hope that when kids do well in my classes they don't have to feel like they're selling out, just that they're doing what they're supposed to be doing....

gangster!

For my portion of my group's presentation I am focusing on programs that combat gang activity not only in school, but in the community as well. When I first started reading the article I am posting about (which evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of the GREAT program) I thought that fighting gang activity in and out of school is a huge bite for the program to try to take. I realized however that gang activity in and out of school virtually goes hand in hand. If gang activity wasnt so prevalent outside school the effects of gangs would probably significantly less within our schools....right??
So the article introduces GREAT- or Gang Resistance Education and Training, a program which was created in Arizona and raises awareness in students about the effects of gang activity through the coordination of a uniformed police officer and a curriculum which consists of nine planned lessons. I'd get into the whole GREAT program in more detail, but that will take away from our presentation!! Or at least my portion...
I really liked the article though, especially because it points out a few of the weaknesses of GREAT and provides steps for improving the weaknesses. I also liked the article because it outlines many of the reasons gangs have become so prevalent in our nation, and even shows the difference between male and female gang members (as far as their affiliation with gangs are concerned).

Combating gangs within our educational system certainly is not, and will never be an easy task. But keeping our students off the streets and in our schools is certainly a task all teachers must take accountability for....I hope...

Oh by the way...the other day while listening to the ole Ipod this Tupac song came through the shuffle and a lyric really stood out to me because of its relation with everything we have talked about so far in this class... he says "They say there aint hope for the youth, but the truth is there aint no hope for the future.."

the middle schools

I didn't think that chapter nine was that bad of a read, it was interesting to hear about the different formats districts have used to address problems such as maturity level in middle schoolers or obstacles to progress. Is a sixth grader ready to deal with issues that arise in middle schools? Are freshman mature enough to handle the freedoms and pressures of the high school? Certainly this is something that is highly individualized, some kids can handle what will come and some kids wont. I think that is where the teachers step in, on page 161 Alexander says that a role of the emergent middle school is to "provide optimum individualization of curriculum and instructionfor a population characterized by great variability" while that seems an idea the school of education has really entrenched in us, I also began to think about whether or not it is the teacher's job to foster a social well-being in the classroom as well as an educational well-being? Certainly we cannot just overlook those who are book smart and excel in the classroom but fail in social situations. While the role a teacher should take in assisting a child in this manner may be very difficult to define I really think that this is an important role a teacher should take.
Where then does the role of a teacher differ with freshman? From the readings, I wasn't too sure. Although chapter ten did discuss teaching students to become good citizens by "shaping and not simply being shaped by surrounding events."(175) For me this created more thought on the role of a teacher as a social facilitator, whether it be encouraging kids to join extra-curricular clubs or during group work making kids work with new people as much as possible. This is why I think that the 5-3-3 format is great, sixth graders and freshman are capable of dealing with middle and high schools it just takes an extra push from teachers who care especially since the sixth and ninth grade represent new levels of independence for adolescents.

What makes a seventh grader more prepared then a sixth grader for middle school?